


Ward and the Dog

by Thewonderginger



Category: Iron Fist (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Deals with death of pets but indirectly, Dogs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-06 03:13:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17931746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thewonderginger/pseuds/Thewonderginger
Summary: Your boyfriend Ward Meachum brings home a lost dog.  You intend to find it's owner but it's not as easy as it seems.  And the other solution, it's not as easy for you as Ward thinks.





	Ward and the Dog

**Author's Note:**

> Reader is genderless so you can be Ward's boyfriend, girlfriend, or they-bae. Also no actual animal death but does deal with emotions.

You came home, expecting to find your boyfriend there.  Except you were greeted by someone a little hairier. And much much shorter.   
“Hello”!  You say excitedly as you do when encountering any canine creature in your path.  “And who are you, most beautiful thing ever?”   
“ _ She  _ doesn’t have a name,” a deep timbre of a voice says from the kitchen.  Ward walks out with a bunch of meat in a bowl.   
“Is that last night's dinner?”   
“Listen, she followed me home, this is all we have.  Look how hungry she is”. He kneels down and pets the Collie’s head who licks her chops at the sight of him.   _ You and me both girl,  _ you think to yourself, admiring your boyfriend.  Ward puts down the bowl and allows the ginger creature to eat.  You cross your arms.   
“Did she have a collar”?

“Nope.  But I suspect she’s a runaway.  She’s very well trained, and way too trusting.  Plus smell her. She’s been shampooed at least with in the week”.   
“I trust your sense of smell,” you say holding up your hands.  “Well, guess we better make signs then”.   
“Of course.  At least she’s in the home of a dog person”.  He smiles at you. You offer a nervous one back.   
“R-right.  Well”. You pat your thighs.  “I’ll get to work on those then”.  You walk past him to your bedroom and put down your things.  With the door slightly closed you let out a sigh. A weight rests on your shoulders that you wish wasn’t there.   
  
“No response yet,” Ward says checking his phone.  The Collie is laying down on the ground underneath you two as you sit on the couch watching a television show.  You look up at Ward. You can’t believe you convinced this CEO to watch a brightly colored animated show with you but it’s also the cutest thing ever that he agreed to it.  You hear the dog sigh beneath you and the memory from another time in your life pops up in your brain. It must have showed on your face because Ward looks at you with concern.   
“Hey, you alright?”  He thumbs your cheek, his brows furrowed in a question.   
“Y-yeah.  Yeah, I’m all good”.  You turn back to the show.  Ward doesn’t let up.   
“Listen, you know you can talk to me right?”   
You press your lips together.  “We just need to widen the search.  That’s all”.   
“You sure that’s all?”   
“Yeah.  We’ll get this pretty girl home yet”.

Ward looks at you but doesn’t push any further.   
  
Ward slams the door to the apartment, letting out a growl.  Someone claiming to be the dog’s owner arrived to take the girl, but the dog growled at them and barked.  You sat in the kitchen on the floor petting the dog, trying to calm it down.   
“It’s okay baby,” you say calmly.  Ward couldn’t help but notice how expert you seemed at it.  “You’re safe, they’re never coming back”.

“That’s right,” Ward says kneeling down next to the both of you.  “You’re staying here”.   
“No!” You say immediately, pulling your hand back from petting the dog.  Ward looks at you, scared at the sudden volume increase of your voice. You cover your mouth.  “I’m sorry Ward”.   
Ward’s shoulders relax slowly.  “It-it’s alright”.   
“No it’s not.  I’ll do better I promise”.  Both of you agreed this was a no yelling home.  Neither of you could take that kind of thing anymore.  Disagreements came up for sure, and it was harder for you than for him to keep an even tone.  Years of letting your anger take over made it a task to keep it in check. But if you were gonna keep this man, if he was going to keep you, then uncontrollable anger and violence could never cross the threshold.  Ever. You tak a deep breath and gather yourself. “Ward, the dog can’t stay here”.   
“Why not?” He moves on from the scare to this.  “You love this guy. I see you cuddling her”.   
“She’s beautiful and lovely, but I can’t deprive someone of their pet.  I know I would hate it if someone had kept one of my dogs”. You look at the creature, a sad thought in your eye.   
Ward sighs and nods.  “Alright. We’ll keep trying”.

“Yes.  And we’ll be more careful about who we let in”.   
“I’m sorry about that”.   
“It’s alright Ward.  We learned from it”.   
Ward nods.  That’s a mantra you use a lot.  Regret, as you’ve told him, takes too much energy.  Mistakes are opportunities for lessons. But not everyone sees it that way.  Mistakes had often been things that people loomed over your head. Ward knew too well what that was like.   
  
Ward woke up in the middle of the night to not find you in bed.  He went to see if you were at your computer, watching funny videos to calm your brain from a nightmare again.  He told you you could wake him up if you had nightmares. But you didn’t want to disturb him in his sleep. As he went to your desk and didn’t see you there he got confused.  Then he heard your voice in the kitchen. You were crying and holding the Collie, talking to it, petting it. It seemed happy in your arms.   
“...it’s too much,” you sob.  You put your head down on the dog’s head.  “Don’t you think I loved you the moment I saw you?  I did, you good girl. I absolutely did. But--”. You lean your head back against the counter and try to catch your breath.  “I can’t do this again. I c--, I can’t take care of anything else. I’m, I’m so tired. I can’t watch...I can’t watch, another dog, die”.  All the memories of all your pets come to your mind. All those years with your four dogs. And all the vet bills. And all the cancers, the failed kidneys, the things you couldn’t afford to heal as you watched the illnesses take each and every one of those beautiful puppies.  You knew it wasn’t your fault, but it was a weight that you couldn’t take anymore. You look down at the girl in your arms. “I don’t want to keep you until you get old and then give you away when you’re close to death. I don’t want be that person. You deserve someone, who will be there with you the whole way.  Okay? And that’s who were gonna find for you baby. I’m gonna find you someone who can love you until the day you die”.   
You hear a noise and look up.  Ward is walking to you and as he sits next to you.  Him seeing you like this, it's embarrassing, and exposing.  A witness to your pain. You cover your face as you cry more.  “What...did you hear?” You choke out.   
Ward puts his arm around you and kisses your head.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize”.   
You cry harder.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you.  It was too hard, to say to you”.  You hiccup between statements. “Ward, I’ve taken care of, of so many dogs.  I can’t do it anymore. I can’t watch her die, please don’t make me watch her die”.   
“Shshsh,” he hushes you, rocking you in his arms. “We aren’t keeping her.  We’ll find her a good home. I promise”.   
“Thank you,” you cough out as you cling to him with one arm, petting the dog with the other.  A weight releases from your chest. 


End file.
